Spectrals interview

FROM a small village in Yorkshire to recording in San Francisco, 23 year old Louis Jones, aka Spectrals, has gone on quiet the journey since starting out in 2010.

And now with the imminent release of his second album, Sob Story, Louis has spoken to Tside about recording, returning to the North and that pesky second album.

Spectrals debut album, Bad Penny, released in 2011, received plaudits from Pitchfork and NME and the band went on to tour with the likes of; The Cribs, Real Estate, Best Coast and play SXSW in 2012.

However, Jones isn’t keen to dwell on previous success, saying: “Once something I do is out, I draw a line under it then start thinking about something else I might have a go at.”

“I’m like a musical leech, I drain what I can from a sound then I pop off. I think I probably take forward a certain set of idiosyncrasies too though, regardless of what sound I’m after, I never quite get there.”

Louis and his band which also includes his younger brother, Will, recorded the album in San Francisco with former Girls bassist, CJ White.

“He brought a lot to it, he really pushed me to think about arrangements and he thought a lot about what would best sonically suit the song, as opposed to just throwing as much sound as we could at it.

Each song was approached differently and nothing found its way on to the record for the sake of it”.

Spectrals are about to embark on a nationwide tour with Sunderland’s favourite sons, Frankie and the Heartstrings, which includes dates in Hartlepool and Newcastle.

“It’s where I thrive haha, my kind of air. Last time we played in Newcastle it was one of the best shows we’ve ever done.”

“I have never been to places like Hartlepool before so it’s good to get to go there. Also, Jeff Stelling from Soccer Saturday is from there so hopefully he might come watch us!”